1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical components which are capable of being inserted into a panel. More particularly, the invention relates to a panel-mountable connector block assembly. For example, such a connector block assembly may house male or female connector contacts which would couple the assembly to mating connector contacts on a cable assembly, or the connector block assembly may be of a type which is used to receive a printed circuit board edge connector. Such connector block assemblies are frequently mounted in relatively large numbers in panels which are part of electrical or electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A part of the total cost of electronic apparatus is the assembly cost which includes mounting the connector blocks into the panels. The prior art, recognizes the importance of reducing the assembly cost of this type of apparatus by changing from screw-fastened connector blocks to connector blocks which are capable of being mounted by faster and more simple procedures.
For instance, it has been suggested to mount multi-contact printed circuit board connector strips into panels through eyelets at the ends of such strips. Upon insertion of the strips through cutouts into the panels, clips are inserted through the eyelets. The clips, being larger than the width of the cutouts retain the strips in the cutouts of the panels. In such an assembly of a connector strip, two clips, one at each end of the strip, are required to retain the strip. Also, an extraction force acting on the strip in a direction perpendicular to the panel is applied in full force on the clips.
Other connector strips have been inserted through a panel and into interlocked relationship with the panel. The extraction of the connector strips then has been prevented by deforming a portion of the panel into an interfering relationship with the connector strip. Such a manner of mounting the connector strips carries with it the possibility that the panel itself fails. Such a failure, as for instance, a breaking off of a single deformable portion of the panel, might bring about a necessity for replacing the entire panel.
Still other components have been mounted to a panel by inserting lugs through enlarged apertures in the panel and laterally sliding the components to engage protrusions from the components perpendicular to the plane of the panel with an aperture in the panel. Upon such an engagement accidental lateral movement of the components is inhibited. However, such mounting provisions are limited in their application in that a necessary flexure of the panel or of the components to be mounted cannot always be provided.